The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this game goes on to play against the Uteck Bowl champions for the Vanier Cup. The home of the Mitchell Bowl, as well as the two conference champions, changes each year on a rotating basis. The Mitchell Bowl was named after Douglas H. Mitchell, a former Canadian Football League commissioner and member of the National Hockey League board of governors.
| Sport | Canadian football |
|---|---|
| League | U Sports football |
| Awarded for | Winning the U Sports Semifinal Championship |
| Country | Canada |
| History | |
| First award | 2002 |
| Editions | 21 |
| First winner | Saskatchewan Huskies |
| Most wins | Saskatchewan Huskies (4) Calgary Dinos (4) Laval Rouge et Or (4)[1] |
| Most recent | UBC Thunderbirds (2023) |
| Website | usports |
History
editIn 2001, U Sports, then known as CIS, voted to change the permanent site of the Atlantic Bowl in the interest of competitive fairness. In 2002, the Mitchell Bowl was first awarded, replacing the Atlantic Bowl. During 2002, the Mitchell Bowl played opposite to the Churchill Bowl. In 2003, the Uteck Bowl replaced the Churchill Bowl.
The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
List of Mitchell Bowl champions
edit| Date | Champion | Score | Runner Up | Location | MVP Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 16, 2002 | Saskatchewan | 22–0 | McGill | Percival-Molson Stadium, Montreal | Sheldon Ball, Saskatchewan |
| November 15, 2003 | Laval | 36–32 | McMaster | Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton | Jeronimo Huerta-Flores, Laval |
| November 20, 2004 | Saskatchewan | 31–16 | Saint Mary's | Griffiths Stadium, Saskatoon | Steve Bilan, Saskatchewan |
| November 19, 2005 | Saskatchewan | 29–27 | Laval | Griffiths Stadium, Saskatoon | David Stevens, Saskatchewan |
| November 18, 2006 | Saskatchewan | 35–28 | Ottawa | Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa | Tyler O’Gorman, Saskatchewan[3] |
| November 17, 2007 | Manitoba | 52–20 | Western | Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg | Mike Howard, Manitoba |
| November 16, 2008 | Western | 28–12 | Saint Mary's | TD Waterhouse Stadium, London | Craig Butler, Western[4] |
| November 21, 2009 | Queen's | 33–30 | Laval | Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston | Shomari Williams, Queen's |
| November 20, 2010 | Calgary | 35–8 | Saint Mary's | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Steven Lumbala, Calgary |
| November 18, 2011 | Laval | 41–10 | Calgary | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Sébastien Lévesque, Laval |
| November 17, 2012 | McMaster | 45–6 | Calgary | Ron Joyce Stadium, Hamilton | Kyle Quinlan, McMaster |
| November 16, 2013 | Calgary | 44–3 | Western | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Mercer Timmis, Calgary |
| November 22, 2014 | McMaster | 24–12 | Mount Allison | Ron Joyce Stadium, Hamilton | Mark Mackie, McMaster[5] |
| November 21, 2015 | Montreal | 25–10 | Guelph | Alumni Stadium, Guelph | Junior Luke, Montreal |
| November 19, 2016 | Calgary | 50–24 | St. Francis Xavier | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Jimmy Underdahl, Calgary |
| November 18, 2017 | Laval | 35–23 | Calgary | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Hugo Richard, Laval |
| November 17, 2018 | Western | 47–24 | Saskatchewan | TD Stadium, London | Chris Merchant, Western[6] |
| November 16, 2019 | Calgary | 30–17 | McMaster | McMahon Stadium, Calgary | Jalen Philpot, Calgary |
| November 21, 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2] | ||||
| November 27, 2021 | Western | 61–6 | St. Francis Xavier | Western Alumni Stadium, London | Offence: Elliot Beamer, Western[7] Defence: Daniel Valente Jr., Western[7] |
| November 19, 2022 | Laval | 27–20 | Western | Western Alumni Stadium, London | Offence: Kalenga Muganda, Laval[8] Defence: Alec Poirier, Laval[8] |
| November 18, 2023 | UBC | 47–17 | St. Francis Xavier | Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver | Offence: Garrett Rooker, UBC[9] Defence: Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown, UBC[9] |
Future participants
editThe teams and host sites of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl rotate on a six-year cycle, so that in each cycle each of the four conferences hosts and visits every other conference once. With the 2020 game cancelled, the cycle was delayed by one year with the 2020 teams playing in 2021.[10]
The participants and sites for future Mitchell Bowl games are listed below:[11]
| Date/Year | Visiting conference | Host conference |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | RSEQ | Canada West |
| 2025 | Canada West | OUA |
| 2026 | OUA | Canada West |
| 2027 | AUS | OUA |
| 2028 | RSEQ | OUA |
| 2029 | AUS | Canada West |
All Mitchell Bowl games have been played at the home field of the host conference's champion. As of 2023, home teams have a record of 14–8.
Team win–loss records
edit| Team | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Huskies | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| Laval Rouge et Or | 4 | 2 | .667 |
| Calgary Dinos | 4 | 3 | .571 |
| Western Mustangs | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| McMaster Marauders | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Manitoba Bisons | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Montreal Carabins | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Queen's Gaels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| UBC Thunderbirds | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| St. Francis Xavier X-Men | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| Saint Mary's Huskies | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| Guelph Gryphons | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| McGill Redbirds | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Mount Allison Mounties | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Ottawa Gee-Gees | 0 | 1 | .000 |
References
edit- ^ Past U Sports Champions
- ^ a b "U Sports cancels 2020 fall championships due to COVID-19". U Sports. June 8, 2020.
- ^ "2006 Season in Review" (PDF). Canadian Interuniversity Sport. 2007. p. 25. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- ^ "Mitchell Bowl: Western wins Mitchell Bowl, to face No. 1 Laval in Vanier Cup". Canadian Interuniversity Sport. November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ 'Off to Vanier: Marauders win Mitchell Bowl 24-12' from Marauders.ca, November 21, 2014, retrieved November 24, 2014
- ^ "Merchant leads Western past Saskatchewan to win Mitchell Bowl". Sportsnet.ca. The Canadian Press. November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Mitchell Bowl: Mustangs gallop to Vanier Cup with victory over X-Men". U Sports. November 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "Mitchell Bowl: Rouge et Or defeat Mustangs, advance to 2022 Canada Life Vanier Cup". U Sports. November 20, 2022.
- ^ a b "Bird is the word: UBC advances to Vanier Cup with Mitchell Bowl victory over St. FX". 3DownNation.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ "U Sports announces 2021-23 fall championship hosts in soccer and rugby". usports.ca. July 3, 2020.
- ^ "U Sports Championship Calendar". U Sports. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.